- ChatGPT announces that ads will reach its free tier
- An $8/month ChatGPT Go is also coming, but it will still have ads
- Opting out may require paying at least $20 per month
ChatGPT will soon have ads, at least in its free version, and the news comes directly from OpenAI. The ads aren’t in the chatbot yet, but you can expect to see them “in the coming weeks.”
OpenAI finally confirmed the rumor in a detailed blog post on Friday (January 16, 2026) that outlines not only their advertising plans, but also their principles for how and why they will display them: “Our mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity.”
The AI giant simultaneously announced the global availability of ChatGPT Go, a more affordable entry-level tier at $8 a month, which, unfortunately, won’t be your first choice for avoiding ads when it arrives.
Adding advertising to ChatGPT is a no-brainer for OpenAI. The company has yet to reach profitability; Its operating costs are said to be astronomical and it has significant profit potential with 800 million monthly active users.
Targeting even a fraction of those users could generate billions in revenue. Integrated advertising could also put ChatGPT on equal footing with its main competitor, Google Gemini. Gemini AI overviews are already part of Google search results, which are adorned with advertising.
What will the ads be like?
OpenAI says that ads will appear at the bottom of the results, as shown in the example above. Then at least you can read your answer before having to read a Squarespace commercial.
The ads will be context-based, meaning they will be linked to the content of your ChatGPT conversation. Ask ChatGPT about which is the best laptop to buy and you might see an ad for Dell or Lenovo at the bottom.
Will these ads be different?
OpenAI plans to allow advertisers to take advantage of the platform, allowing consumers to ask them about products or purchasing decisions in the same way they could interact with ChatGPT.
“AI tools further level the playing field, allowing anyone to create high-quality experiences that help people discover options they would never have otherwise found,” OpenAI writes in the post.
All of these ads and ad experiences will be clearly labeled, according to OpenAI.
Who won’t see ads?
Anyone who the system knows is under 18, or someone who tells ChatGPT that they are under that age, will not see any ads. OpenAI will also keep ads free of chat topics related to health and politics.
Ads will also not influence the information contained in your responses, meaning you should not consider a response that could benefit, highlight, or criticize a potential advertiser.
Controls and opt-out
OpenAI promises not to sell customer data to third parties and will allow you to turn off personalization and delete your data, which could affect the relevance of the ads you see on ChatGPT.
However, an obvious way to avoid seeing ads is to join a paid tier that doesn’t include the new $8/month ChatGPT Go plan. While Go gives you more access to the latest OpenAI model and improved imaging, you must have the $20/month ChatGPT Plus plan to avoid ads.
However, OpenAI says, “We will always offer a way to not see ads on ChatGPT, including a paid ad-free tier,” suggesting there could be other alternatives to turning off ads, although it’s unclear at this time what they might be.
Advertising testing on the free and ChatGPT Go tiers will begin soon in the US. There’s no word on when they will spread to other users, though we assume it will depend on their success in the states.
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